Buzz Off

Ours is an industry that just loves its buzz words. So, boys and girls, let's look at some of these bon mots and how they've been used to the point where they have no meaning.

Viral. As in "we want to do a viral campaign". Is there any successful campaign that can't be considered viral? Does viral just mean a funny video on the web? A micro-site that lots of people go to? An app that gets sent around? Can't traditional old school television commercials be considered viral e.g. "Where's the beef?" and "I can't believe I ate the whole thing" if people tell their friends about them? How about a print ad that someone cuts out of a magazine and passes on to a friend? All of the above or none of the above? If you're trying to be viral, chances are you'll fail anyway if you don't have a good enough idea that people will want to tell other people about. So let's please retire the use of the word viral.

Stickiness. Is sticky having people come back to your site on a regular basis? Does that mean that a website isn't successful if people only visit it once? What if they engage with the brand for over 10 minutes and then never come back? Is that then a measure of failure? Of course not! No more stickiness.

Synergy. I think I knew what this word meant but I admit having heard it thrown around so much I had to look at Merriam-Webster to get the official definition. Okay, so it means participants or elements coming together to achieve a common goal. (I think.) Question for you buzz-worders out there: is there any initiative in which you want disharmony and disunity amongst participants whether they're creators or audience? There was definitely a lack of synergy when the Confederates fired on Fort Sumter to start the U.S. Civil War.

Nimble. This one is bandied about when comparing how small companies operate versus larger ones and I have to admit that I've used this one in the past when talking about Firstborn. Is there a salesman out there who wants to present their company as being bloated, lethargic and slow to move? So let's use some other adjectives instead of nimble from now on.

Low hanging fruit. For some reason, this conjures up some bizarre images in my head but perhaps that's the result of my childhood. Fruit is fruit. Sales is sales. Opportunities are opportunities. Low, high and everywhere in between.

Social networking. I'm treading on a minefield by including this one in my list since it's the red hot topic du jour in marketing and advertising. Isn't every medium social in some way or another? Did we just invent the transmission of ideas in a social way? You could argue that when Guttenberg created his printing press he was creating a bit of social networking. I'm not denying the importance of this phenomenon in our modern culture but it's time we stop throwing it around whenever we talk about communication.

So if you're looking for some long hanging fruit that's a sticky, nimble viral campaign with synergy and social networking please keep it to yourself.